Inmate Abriana Pesante Dies After Incarceration in Monroe County Jail
In news from New York, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office shares details about the August 7, 2025, death of an inmate who was in the custody of Monroe County Jail.
Abriana Pesante, 35, was remanded to the custody of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office at 2:25 a.m. on August 5, 2025, for outstanding warrants. She was then booked into the Monroe County Jail.
According to Sgt. Hurley from the MCSO, two days later at 7:38 a.m., deputies at the Monroe County Jail were conducting security rounds when they discovered that Ms. Pesante was unresponsive in a cell. Lifesaving measures were immediately initiated and included cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the deployment of an automated external defibrillator (AED). Jail staff and medical personnel continued to perform lifesaving measures until the arrival of the Rochester Fire Department and the American Medical Response (AMR). Paramedics continued the lifesaving measures.
Abriana Pesante was transported by ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced deceased at 8:46 a.m. on August 7, 2025.
Internal Affairs and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Section are conducting parallel investigations, per agency protocol.
The New York State Commission of Corrections and the New York State Attorney General’s Office have been notified. MCSO will fully cooperate with each of these agencies’ reviews.
A preliminary investigation suggests that Ms. Pesante appears to have died from a medical issue. Her cause and manner of death are pending the outcome of autopsy results from the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The Monroe County Jail has a 287-inmate capacity. The jail’s address is 130 S Plymouth Ave, Rochester, NY 14614.
A Baffling History of Suicides in New York’s Monroe County Jail
In the seven years between 2005 and 2012, there were no inmate suicides in Rochester’s Monroe County Jail.
Annual statistics show that suicide is the leading cause of death in county and municipal jails. There are also more suicides in local jails than in state and federal prisons. So, it was an achievement to have seven years of successful suicide prevention.
However, on April 3, 2012, Ramon Vazquez hung himself from the bars of his cell with a bed sheet. Altogether, five suicides occurred in Monroe County Jail in 2012.
What was the difference between the seven years with no suicides and 2012, when jail suicides in Monroe County Jail began trending again? In recent years, for instance, families of two inmates pursued justice for their loved ones who exhibited clear evidence of having mental health problems and being at risk of self-harm. The jail allegedly did too little to protect the lives of their loved ones.
Many New York jails have been intentional about improving care for mentally ill detainees. The most complicating issue may be that correctional facilities, including jails, are not designed to be mental health institutions.
Sitarah Daniels Dies by Suicide in Monroe County Jail
Consider the tragic death of Sitarah Daniels on September 5, 2018, when she died by suicide. The day before, she had been found hanging from a blanket secured to the bars of her cell at Monroe County Jail. She had been booked into the jail on August 8, 2018, and was placed under suicide watch due to her history, which included the following:
- Suicide attempts
- Psychiatric hospitalizations
- Treatment for several mental health disorders
- A prior attempted suicide in the same jail in October 2015
On August 13, 2018, Ms. Daniels was taken off suicide watch, which includes a deputy stationed directly outside the cell. The deputies on suicide watch were required to have the ability to intervene immediately if an inmate needed medical attention.
On September 4, 2018, the required face-to-face observation checks were not completed as required for the cell where Ms. Daniels was housed. A deputy did not complete a tour of cells between 2:26 and 2:40 that day. The same deputy falsely logged that he completed observation rounds at 2:40 p.m. and 2:50 p.m.
Meanwhile, a surveillance camera recorded Ms. Daniels tying a blanket to the bars of her cell. At 2:33 p.m., the camera allegedly recorded her hanging herself.
It wasn’t until 2:57 p.m. that deputies who were walking past a surveillance camera saw that Ms. Daniels was hanging in her cell. The blanket was cut down 25 minutes after she hung herself. She was transported by ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital, where a hospital physician pronounced her deceased on September 5 at 7:20 p.m.
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